8 January 2010, Innerleithen - Scottish cashmere knitwear
manufacturer JJ & HB 1788 Cashmere Mills has called in receivers after the
company reportedly ran out of cash after orders plummeted due to the current
economic crisis. Receivers are now looking for a buyer for the business.
Just over a year ago, US retailer Brooks Brothers acquired a
25% shareholding in the factory which had belonged to the Italian owned
Ballantyne brand. The factory which is located near Peebles in the Scottish Borders
region was considered to be one of Scotland’s top quality cashmere knitwear
manufacturers and is still known locally as Ballantyne’s.
In October 2008, Ballantyne’s Italian owners also sold a 55%
stake in the borders mill to Massimiliano Zegna Baruffa, textiles entrepreneur
and former owner of the famous Italian worsted yarn spinner Zegna Baruffa. A
statement at the time said that Ballantyne retained a 20% shareholding in the
mill.
The Innerleithen factory which has an outstanding reputation
for top quality knitwear, especially hand intarsia knitwear, was in Italian
ownership for a number of years and its future was under threat until the
October 2008 takeover. In the deal, the
owners planned to expand the factory's production capability whilst Brooks
Brothers, one of the oldest retailers in the US, was to use the factory as its
cashmere knitwear supplier.
The company has been operating under the name of JJ & HB
1788 Cashmere Mills, named after its original founding Ballantyne brothers and
the year of establishment of the factory. Ballantyne Cashmere was established
in 1921. The mill operated a plant of Shima Seiki SES and FIRST machines as
well as 9, 15 and 21 gauge fully fashioned frames.
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